Shipping container



May 24, 1949. R. A. NORBOM 4 SHIPPING CONTAINER Filed Feb. 12, 1946 was5 Sheets-Sheet 1 N Ra gnarANor'bom War/l3.

R. A. NoRBoM 2,471,280

SHIPPING CONTAINER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Lhwmwllllllallln l W lllllllllbll HMay 24, 1949.

Filed Feb. 12, 1946 R. A- NORBOM SHIPPING CONTAINER May 24, 1949.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 12, 1946 3 m Z RagnarA-Norbom Patented May24, 1949 srnrrme conramaa Ragnar A. Nor-born, New York, N. Y., assignorto National Fitch Corporation, a corporation of Delaware ApplicationFebruary 12, '1946, Serial No. 647,060

This invention relates to means for transferring finely divided bulkmaterial such as grain, powdered chemicals and minerals, and moreparticularly flour or other granulated or pulverized food products. Manyattempts have been made to transport such material, particularly flour,in bulk in large containers capable of being sealed substantiallyairtight and of a size suitable for loading only one or two upon arailway car or one upon an automotive transport vehicle, such as a truckor a semi-trailer. The advantages of transporting pulverized bulkmaterial, and particularly flour, in such containers instead of inconventional sacks, bags or barrels are numerous. It would save muchrehandling with resultant loss through breakage, overcome contaminationhazards of moisture, vermin, and like nuisances, and result in a muchmore sanitary system of handling flour. Flour would be transported insuch containers from the point of manufacture to the point of use, wherethe container itself could be employed for storage purposes.

All of the previous attempts to transport flour in large containers ofthe type above referred to have been unsuccessful because of thedifliculty encountered in completely discharging the flour from thecontainer. Many known arrangements for pneumatically discharging variouskinds of finely divided material have been tried, but because of thepeculiar characteristics of flour they have not been successful.

The object. of this invention is to provide a container of the typeabove described, with improved means for pneumatically discharging thecontents thereof in a minimum of time.

Another object of the invention is to provide pneumatic dischargingmeans that will effect the complete removal of the bulk material,particularly flour, from the container.

Still another object of the invention is to provide container dischargemeans that eliminates the necessity of employing slope sheets in theinterior corners of the container at the discharge end, in order toeffect the complete removal of the bulk material therefrom.

A further object of the invention is to-provide discharging means soconstructed that discharge may be accomplished from either side of thecontainer. I

The means for accomplishing these objectives 14 Claims. (Cl. 214-8338)are hereinafter more fully explained in connection with the drawing andthe essential novel features are summarized in the claims.

In the drawings which form a part of this specincation:

Figure l is a side elevation of a semi-trailer on which is mounted acontainer having my improved discharge means.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary elevation of the discharge end of thecontainer partially cut away to show more details of the dischargestructure.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a discharge corner of the container,partially cutaway to show more detail of the discharge structure.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the pneumatic discharge hose operativelyconnected to the discharge outlet of the container.

Figure 5 is a perspective of the crank used to operate the dischargestructure, and a portion of the-actuating rod.

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6-8 I of Figure 2.

Figure 7 is an enlargement of a portion of Figure 1 showing the detailof the stirrups which retain the rear skid rail of the container whilethe latter is being tilted, as indicated by the dotted lines.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the various views.

Referring to Figure 1, a semi-trailer, indicated generally by l, isshown connected to a trucktractor 2, the front part of which is notshown. A demountable container 3, in position to be transported. isshown loaded on the semi-trailer. The container is supported front andrear on two upwardly facing channel guideways 4 transversely mounted, inparallel, on the bed of the semi-trailer and engaging skid rails 5,correspondingly mounted on the bottom of the container. This transversearrangement permits the container to be loaded onto the semi-trailerfrom the side, which facilitates the transfer of a,

container from a railway car to a. semi-trailer and vice versa. Asshownin Figure 7, the container is securely locked to the semi-trailer, toprevent movement of the former while in transit, by stirrups 6 whichextend over the projecting ends of the skid rails and engage fingers Imounted on the ends of the guideways. The stirrups are held in positionby projections 8 on a swinging bridge scribed is that disclosed andclaimed in Patent No, 2,266,790, granted to me December 23, 1941. Itwill be noted that in this invention, however, the upperportion ill ofthe main opening in the stirrups is arcuate in shape and cooperates witha similarly formed projection II on top of the projecting ends of theskid rails to permit turning of the skid rail within the stirrup whenthe container is tilted into the discharging position. Mounted upon thesemi-trailer is a conventional lifting apparatus l2, which, afterremoval of the front stirrups, may be engaged with recess or socket l3in the 'under frame or the container and operated to'tilt the containerabout the fulcrum provided by the rear supporting members: the guideway4 of the semi-trailer, the skid rail 5 of the container, and thestirrups 6. It should be noted that while the stirrups securely hold thecontainer from translation in any direction, when the front stirrups areremoved the rear ones permit the container to be rotated about ahorizontal axis, because of the cooperation between arcuate portion illon the stirrups and arcuate portion H on the skid rails. This tilting ofthe container, which also may be accomplished by using a hoist attachedto lifting hook M at the forward end of the container, is necessary toeffect a complete discharge of the contents thereof, as is hereinafterdescribed.

The container is of conventional shape having one or more fillingopenings at the top provided with sealing closures IS. The dischargemeans is located in a recess formed by an inwardly offset section I 6 ofthe lower portion of one end wall, as is best shown in Figures 2, 3 and6. The recess is divided into a center and two end compartments byvertically extending partitions [1. As shown in Figure 6, the lower endof the oflset wall section I9 is cut away as at I8, in each compartment. These cut away portions, in cooperation with the containerfloor l9, which extends slightly beyond the lower end of the wallsection I9, iorm outlet openings 20 extending sub- 'stantially thelength of each compartment. These openings afiord communication betweenthe interior of the container and each of the compartments. In the lowerportion of the recess, and .transversely extending through thecompartments and the partitions is a suction discharge conduit or pipe2i mounted against the 4 tion i8, serve to block the passageways 23 whenthe closure members are in down position, as shown in Figure 6. Itshould be noted that the flanges 28 together with that portion of theclosure members 23 extending beyond the flanges,

serve as closures for the openings 20' as well as closures for thepassageways 23 and the slots 22.

Mounted above and parallel to the discharge pipe is a closure actuatingrod 29, mounted in bearings formed in the partitions l1 andextendingsomewhat beyond the partitions forming the outer wall of eachend compartment. The actuating rod 29 is adapted to be turned by meansof a crank 30, as illustrated in Figure 5. Radially projecting from theclosure actuating rod are a series of closure actuating pins 3|, 32 and33 designed to contact lugs 34 projecting from the top of the closuremembers 26. As best illustrated in Figure 2, two lugs 34 are provided oneach closure member, one near each end thereof. Immediately adjacent toand on that side of the lugs away from the hinge 21 are pin clearanceopenings 35 in the closure members. These openings are necessary toprovide clearance between the closure actuating pins and the top of theclos ure members when the latter are in the raised position shown by thedotted lines in Figure 6. In each compartment two closure actuatingpins, radially in line, are provided on the actuating rod 29,corresponding to the two lugs 34 on the closure member in thatcompartment. The actuating pins in each compartment are radially offseton the rod 29 from those in other compartouter edge of the floor l9 andhaving in each compartment a longitudinally extending slot 22, of thesame length as, and in line with the corresponding openings 20 of thecontainer end wall. The lower edge of the slots 22 is flush with thefloor I9 of the container, while the top edge of the slots is slightlybelow the top of the openings 29, as shown in Figure 6. This mounting ofthe discharge pipe 2| forms passageways 23 between the pipe and wallsection l6, which afl'ord communication between the compartments and,through the slots 22, to the interior of the discharge pipe. The outerends of the pipe form discharge outlets 24 having removable covers 25.

An arcuate closure or valve member 29, one in each compartment, ismounted over the discharge pipe and hinged at 21, from which point itextends around the discharge pipe to the edge '23 near the lip thereof,and extending substantially the length of each compartment and betweenthe closure members 26 and the wall secments. The arrangement, asillustrated in Figure 2, is such that when the rod 29 is turned, theactuating pins 3| in the center compartment contact the lugs 34 in thatcompartment. As the rod is turned further, the pins 32 in one endcompartment contact the lugs 34 in that compartment. Further turning ofthe rod brings the pins 33 in the other end. compartment into contactwith the lugs 34 in that compartment.

In addition to the actuating pins on the closure actuating rod areclosure lock pins 36, one centrally located in each compartment, andradially in line. These closure lock pins are radially offset fromactuating pins 3|, 32 and 33. After closure'actuating pins 33 in one endcompartment have contacted the lugs 34 in that compartment, furtherturning of the rod 29 brings the closure lock pins into the downwardposition shown in Figures 2 and 3. In this position, the closure lockpins extend nearly to the top surface of the closure members 26', and,since there are no corresponding'pin clearance openings in the closuremembers, the latter are prevented from being raised. The removablecovers 25 on the discharge outlets 24 of pipe 2| have a centrallylocated annular ri-b 31. On both ends of the closure actuating rod 29are cover lock pins 38, radially extending in the same direction as theclosure lock pins 36, and located outwardly of the annular rib 31 on thecovers 25. The cover lock pins when in the position shown in Figures 2and 3 extend inwardly of the annular rib to prevent removal of thedischarge outlet covers.

The compartments are closed on the outer side by member 39 havingmounted therein removable air filters 40, one for each compartment.

Having thus described the structure of my invention, the operation is asfollows: With the discharge means in closed and locked position. as

manner and the filling opening closures l5 replaced. These closurespreferably should be of a type-that form a waterproof and dirtproof sealto prevent contamination of the contents of the container. The containermay then be transported by rail or automotive vehicle to its detination.Usually such transportation involves a rail trip with a short finalstage by automotive vehicle, such as between a railroad freight yard anda bakery. In such case, the container, by means of its skid rails, isslid off a railroad fiat car onto an automotive vehicle, where thecontainer is locked to the vehicle by the stirrups 6, as illustrated inFigures 1 and '7. Upon arrival at the destination where removal of thecontents-of the container is to be effected, the front stirrups areremoved and by means of the lifting apparatus 12, or any conventionalhoisting means attached to the lifting hook I, the container is tiltedinto a position best illustrated by the dotted lines in Figure 7. Thetilting thus accomplished is necessary to provide gravity aid ineffecting removal of the loose bulk material from the container. Whilein some respects loose bulk material has the char-.

and sticking. Therefore, inclined walls are necv essary to make theloose bulk material flow to the discharge exit.

With the container thus in tilted position for removal of the contents,the crank 30 is attached to either end of the actuating rod 29 and therod rotated through approximately 90, thus freeing the annular rib 31 onthe discharge outlet covers 25 from their locking pins 38 and, allowinga cover to be removed from that side of the container from whichdischarge is to be effected; At the same time, the closure lock pins 36are moved out of locking positionto allow-the closure members 23 to beraised. A flexible suction hose 4| is then. attached to the dischargeoutlet 24., as illustrated in Figure 4. Further rotation of the rod 29,by use of the crank on that end of the rod opposite the hose 4|, causesclosure actuating pins. 3| in the center compartment to contact the lugs34 on the closure member 26, in that compartment, and cam the closuremember into a raised position best shown by the dotted lines in Figure6. The same dotted lines indicate that the clearance openings 35 in theclosure members are necessary to allow clearance of the closure surewithin the container, particularly on top of the loose bulk materialtherein, which would tend to pack the material in the lower portions ofthe container and render evacuation more difficult. Since the currentofair flowing through the passageways 23 turns to enter the discharge pipe2|, it flows through the slot 22 at an angle to the plane thereof thuscausing a swirling action in the discharge pipe. This swirling actionfurther agitates the loose bulk material in the pipe and thoroughlymixes it with the current of air. The mixture of air and loose bulkmaterial is drawn through the discharge pipe into the suction hose anddischarged wherever desired, e. g.,

into a' storage bin. The air filters 4|), serve to clean the air andthus prevent contamination of the loose bulk material with dust,moisture. and the like.

After all the material possible has been evacuated from the containerthrough the opening 20 in the center compartment, the actuating rod isrotated further through 90, disengaging the pins 3| from the lugs on theclosure'member in the central compartment and allowing the closuremember both to drop and to be sucked back into closed position. At thesametime, the actuating pins 32 in one end compartment will contact thelugs 0n the closure member in that compartment, thus raising it andallowing the loose bulk material to be withdrawn from that side of thecontainer in the same manner as from the center.

,A further rotation of the actuating rod closes other side of thecontainer.

the closure member in that end compartment and opens the closure memberin the other end comlock pins and the cover lock pins in downward lockedposition.

The outlet covers are again locked in place by the cover lock pins whilethe members with the actuating pins when the closure members are raised.

The raising of the closure member in the center compartment opens theslot 22 in the discharge pipe 2| and removes the longitudinal flange 28from contact with the offset wall It to clear-the passageway 23. Thesuction of the hose II is then established, and a current of air flowsthrough the filter 40 of the center compartment, through the passageway23, and through the slot 22 into the discharge pipe. This currentflowing through the passageway 23 impinges on the material movingthrough the opening 20 by gravity action and agitates it, thuspreventing sticking. When the direction of the air current is changedgenerally to that of the movement of thematerial to enter the slot 22,the current adds to the gravity action and drags the material along intothe discharge pipe. At the same time, the negative pressure used tocreate the air current tends to suck the material through the opening 20because the air pressure in the container just inside the opening issomewhat greater than that just outside the container opening. It is tobe noted, however, thatthere is no increase prespowdered bulk material.

closure lock pins prevent the closure members from opening, eitherthrough the impact of the loose bulk material when the container isbeing filled or through vibration in transit.

It should be noted that the rod 29 maybe turned only in the direction toopen the closures in proper sequence because the reverse direction willcause the closure actuating pins to contact the lugs 34 from above andno further movement of the rod will be possible.

While l have shown and illustrated one specific embodiment of myinvention, it is obvious that it is susceptible of variousmodifications. Instead of three chambers; two, four, or more could beemployed. The order of evacuation through the various chambers could bevaried. The number and location of closure actuating pins and closurelock pins could be changed, and various other modifications made.Accordingly, the spirit and scope of the invention is as set out in theappended claims. I have found in actual practice, however, that thestructure as illustrated is an' extremely eificient means of dischargingflour or similar powdered material in a minimum of time, and withcomplete evacuation of the container. It is of particular advantage toemploy suction instead of positive air pressure to move Positive airpressure has the tendency to pack such material and render diflicult itsremoval, while negative air pressure takes advantage of the positivepressure 7 already existing between the finely divided particles of thematerial, which when negative pressure is applied, tends to scatter suchparticles.

The use of negative pressure also serves to retain in position thedischarge outlet cover on the discharge outlet opposite that to whichthe suction hose is attached while evacuation is taking place. It alsoshould be noted in my construction that the combined length of the threeoutlet openings 20 substantially equals the width of the containerbottom thus assuring complete evacuation of the loose bulk materialwithout the necessity of corner Slope sheets to guide material to asingle central outlet. Such corner slope sheets not only would lower thecubic capacity of the container, but

also would require a more complicated container construction.

I claim:

1. A container for transporting finely divided bulk material'having aplurality of outlet openings in a lower portion at one end thereof,discharge means comprising; a discharge conduit adjacent to said outletopenings and having inlet openings aligned with and spaced from saidoutlet openings, the spacing between said outlet and inlet openingsforming passageways between said container and said conduit adjacent tosaid openings through which a current of air may flow past said outletopenings and into said inlet openings.

2. The structure as set forth in claim 1 with valve means interposed inthe path of said cur-' valve means in succession forv each pair of saidcorresponding inlet openings and adjacent passageways.

5. The structure set forth in claim 1 with valve means interposed in thepath of said current of air to control its passage through each pair ofcorresponding inlet openings and adjacent passageways, and meansoperable at one side of the container for opening and closing said valvemeans in succession for each pair of said corresponding inlet openingsand adjacent passageways and for looking all of said valve means inclosed position upon completion of the valve operating cycle. v

6. A container for transporting finely divided bulk material havinga'plurality of outlet openings in a lower portion at one end thereof,discharge means comprising; an open ended discharge conduit adjacent tosaid outlet openings and having inlet openings aligned with and spacedfrom said outlet openings, the spacing between said outlet and inletopenings forming passageways between said container and said conduitadjacent to said openings through which a current of air may flow pastsaid outlet openingsv and into said inlet openings, valve meansinterposed in the path of said current of air to control its passagethrough each pair of corresponding inlet openings and adjacentpassageways, remo'vable covers for each end of said discharge conduit,and shaft means operable from either side of the container for openingand closing said valve means in succession for each pair of saidcorresponding inlet openings and adja cent passageways, the said shaftmeans also having means for preventing removal of said covers uponcompletion of the valve operating cycle.

7. A container for transporting finely divided bulk material having aplurality of outlet openings in a lower portion at one end thereof,discharge means comprising; a discharge conduit adjacent to said outletopenings and having inlet openings aligned with and in communicationwith said outlet openings, valve means disposed -to interruptcommunication between each pair of corresponding outlet openings andinlet openings, a shaft, and projections thereon for opening and closingsaid valve means, said projections beingradially oflset to operate saidvalve means in succession for each pair of said corresponding outletopenings and inlet openings.

8. The structure set forth in claim .7 with additional projections onsaid shaft for locking all of said valve means in closed position uponcompletion of the valve operating cycle.

9. A container for transporting finely divided bulk material having aplurality of outlet openings in a lower portion at one end thereof,discharge means comprising an open ended discharge conduit adjacent tosaid outlet openings and having inlet openings aligned with and incommunication with said outlet openings, valve means disposed tointerrupt communication between each pair of corresponding outletopenings and inlet openings, removable covers for each end of saiddis-charge conduit, a shaft, projections thereon for operating saidvalve means, said projections being radially offset to operate saidvalvemeans in succession for each pair of said corresponding outlet openingsand inlet openings, and additional projections on said shaft forpreventing removal of said covers upon completion of the valve operatingcycle.

10. Aplurality of valve means, a shaft, and projections thereon foroperating said valve means, said projections being radially offset toopen and close each of said valve means in succession, and additionalprojections on said shaft for locking all of said valve means in closedposition upon completion of the valve operating cyc e.

11. The structure as set forth in claim 1 in which the outlet openingsare closely spaced and horizontally arranged throughout substantiallythe full width of the said lower end portion of the container, wherebyall of the container contents will pass to the discharge outlets withoutsubstantial lateral deflection.

12. A container for transporting finely divided bull: material having aplurality of laterally elongated outlet openings in a lower portion atone end thereof, means permitting said container to be tilted about thesaid lower end portion, said outlet openings being closely spaced andhorizontally arranged throughout substantially the full width of thesaid lower end portion whereby all of the container contents will passto the discharge outlets without substantial lateral deflection, and asuction discharge conduit for saidmaterial adjacent to said outletopenings andright side and end walls, one of said upright walls having aplurality of closely spaced, substantially horizontally aligned outletopenings arranged throughout substantially the full width of a lowerportion thereof, means permitting said container to be tilted about saidlower portion, suction discharge means in communication with each ofsaid openings, a plurality of valve means for controlling saidcommunication, and means for opening and closing each of said valvemeans in succession.

14. A container for finely divided bulk material having a bottom walland substantially upright side and end walls, one of said upright wallshaving a plurality of closely spaced, horizontally aligned outletopenings in a lower portion thereof, means permitting said container tobe tilted about said lower portion, suction discharge means having aplurality of corresponding inlet openings in communication with saidoutlet openings, air inlet means for outside air having a plurality ofdownwardly directed corresponding outlets for discharging said airadjacent said outlet openings, and a plurality of valve means forcontrolling said communication and said discharge.

RAGNAR A. NORLBOM.

REFERENCES crrnn The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

